The present invention relates to walk-behind lawn mowers, such as power driven walk-behind lawn mowers, and more particularly to a novel walk-behind lawn mower whose front wheels may be steered by the operator during a cutting operation.
It is known that in walk-behind lawn mowers having no operable steering mechanism that the machine is designed to follow a straight course when no force is applied by the operator to the control handle. In order to steer the mower considerable force must be exerted by the operator to the control handle to guide the mower in the intended direction of travel. For example, to turn the machine from one direction of travel to another the operator must exert sufficient force downward and sideward on the control handle to skew the front end around into the intended direction of travel. Further, at every correction of course the aforesaid action must be repeated. The force required to turn the machine varies, dependent on the distribution of weight on the rear wheels and handle length and position of the particular lawn mower but will average between approximately 18% and 30% of the total weight of the machine.
In the prior art, it is known to provide a steering system for the rear wheel or wheels of a walk-behind lawn mower. This is illustrated for example in U.S. patents to Schantz U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,029,887 and 3,196,971 and Haseloff U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,504 and 4,024,695. However, such steering systems are limited in their ability to maneuver the mower to turn away from a closely adjacent fence, wall or ditch without striking the latter.